Parking won’t be allowed on the south side of Walnut Street to help alleviate traffic woes around Oak Harbor Middle School.

In past weeks, Oak Harbor police posted temporary “no parking” signs affecting traffic flow from the middle school to Locust Street, according to Police Chief Steve Weirich. The experiment was meant to gauge if the change could free up traffic problems created when the buses load and unload students as parents and others in private vehicles race to do the same along the busy stretch.

As the 2014-15 school year enters its second week, Weirich supported an ordinance that came before Oak Harbor Village Council on Monday to make the ban permanent.

He noted bus drivers now have “a straight shot out of there” without having to weave around parked personal vehicles. And the safety factor is greatly increased, he added.

Fiscal Clerk Debbie Carpenter’s short resignation letter was read by Mayor Bill Eberle at the beginning of Monday’s regular Oak Harbor Village Council meeting. She only referred to “life changing” circumstances that forced her decision. Carpenter’s last day is Oct. 31.

The fiscal officer is responsible for the day-to-day financial operations, fund investments, payroll, employee fringe benefits, human resource issues, record retention and required reporting to the state. The fiscal clerk also acts as a clerk of council. The position is a mayoral appointment.

Oregon City Council next month will consider the application of a Special Use Exemption (SUE) for a lot at the northeast corner of Navarre Avenue and Wynn Road for the development of a small strip mall.

Plans also call for a gas station, according to Mayor Mike Seferian.

“I know at different times, this might become a little bit of a topic amongst residents and some people in the city of whether that’s a proper use for that piece of property,” said Seferian. The parcel faced foreclosure years ago following several attempts to purchase it, he added.

“Each of those attempts had failed. Now there’s an agreement to try and put that property to use,” he said.

A local state representative joined with colleagues on the state controlling board recently in questioning why the Ohio Department of Transportation didn’t do more to assist Ohio universities when the department sought requests for proposals for a research/planning project to improve bridge construction.

State Rep. Chris Redfern (D- Catawba Island) and at least two other members of the board indicated during a board meeting last month they wouldn’t approve a contract with Iowa State University for $166,269 even though it was lower than proposals from Cleveland State University, Case Western University, Ohio University and the University of Toledo.